The PSC Register: what Schools need to know
News
Schools will no doubt be aware of the new requirement for registered companies to compile and maintain a Register of People with Significant Control (PSC Register), which came into force last week. This only directly affects schools that are established as companies (whether limited by guarantee or by shares, and regardless of whether or not they are charities) and not those established by Royal Charter or Charity Commission Scheme. However, the requirements will apply to companies associated with schools (so trading or enterprise subsidiaries, for example) and so we anticipate that the majority of independent schools and academies will want to understand what is expected of them.
This briefing focusses on the application of the new regime in the context of charities and their associated companies, but the principles will apply equally to non-charitable schools.
In those cases where a school is set up as a company whose members are the same individuals as the governors (and assuming those governors number more than four), it is likely that the PSC register will simply need to report that there are no registerable persons or legal entities (see the first illustrative example in the briefing). But schools need to take care to review the rules, paying close attention to their own governance and operational arrangements, and considering in particular who their members are and what relationship the schools has with other associated companies (who will need their own PSC Registers).
Please click here to read the guide in full.
If you require further information on anything covered in this briefing please contact Lizzie Jones ([email protected]; +44 (0)203 375 7138) or your usual contact at the firm on 020 3375 7000.
This publication is a general summary of the law. It should not replace legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.
